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Becca (cowritten by Allison)
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Date Posted: 20:48:21 01/13/02 Sun
In reply to:
Becca (cowritten by Allison)
's message, "TCO Episode 2: Laying Groundwork Chapter 3" on 20:32:45 01/13/02 Sun
Chapter 4
“What?” Willow asked, looking at the stunned expressions on Liz and Alexis’s faces. “Who is that guy, and why are you both so freaked out about it?”
“He’s my brother,” Alexis sighed, shaking her head. “This can’t be happening...”
Liz shrugged. “Maybe Luke was right all along.”
“No, he isn’t, at least, he wasn’t a vampire before. Spike must have just sired him recently. Damn him! Why did he have to pick my brother?” She sighed and returned to the sofa, sitting next to Jax. He put his arm around her shoulder to comfort her, not quite sure what was going on.
Angel stepped up next to Liz and peered at the screen just as the camera shifted to begin another sweep of the docks. “Is that his house?”
“Yeah, that’s Wyndemere,” Liz answered.
“Well, that’s reason enough for Spike to bring him over. He loves houses like that. It would make a perfect lair for him and his new army.”
Willow groaned and pushed her chair back, standing up. “I’ve been at this computer for too long, my neck is getting all cramped up. Where’s Oz when I need him? He gives great neck rubs.” She sighed and turned to walk away, pausing when she saw Angel smirking at her. “Don’t even think about it,” she warned, stepping back and laughing.
“What, it’s okay for a werewolf to give you a massage, but not a vampire?” Liz asked, amused by the whole scene.
“What can I say, I’m fickle,” Willow responded, smiling at Angel before retreating to a more comfortable chair near Giles. Liz sighed and took the empty seat in front of the computer.
“Maybe this thing will show us more the next time it sweeps around.” She leaned forward to study the screen as it slowly cycled through the different shots of the docks, working its way back towards Spoon Island. Angel stood behind her, looking over her head at the computer.
They sat there in silence, staring at the screen while Giles, Alexis and Willow poured over the numerous texts in the living room. Jax sat quietly, not sure what to do, still confused over everything that was happening.
Liz groaned, leaning her head back. “Willow, you’re right, this chair is definitely not comfortable! I’ve been here less than ten minutes, and my neck is already killing me.”
“I think it’s the angle of the monitor or something,” Willow suggested, glancing over at Giles. “You should really do something about that.”
He shrugged and returned his attention to his book, determined to find something about the Hellmouth. Liz was still rolling her head back and forth, trying to work out the cramp in her neck when Angel reached down and closed his hands over her shoulders, expertly massaging them. His attention was still focused of the monitor, waiting for the camera to make it back to Wyndemere.
“Mmm,” Liz moaned, closing her eyes. After fighting alongside him that night, she felt more comfortable around him, and wasn’t the least bit frightened by his sudden gesture. “Willow, you really should have taken him up on that massage. This is heavenly. Where did you learn how to do this?”
Angel shrugged. “When you’ve been around for over two centuries, you pick things up.” He stopped massaging as the shot finally switched back to Wyndemere. They both leaned forward, studying the screen. “There, is that the man you were talking about?” he asked, reaching around her to point at Stefan.
Liz nodded. “That would be him. What do you think?”
“It’s always possible that Spike somehow got him to allow them to share his house, without having to make him a vampire as well, but it’s doubtful. Spike doesn’t work that way.”
Outside, Lucky was peering through the window, watching the scene play out. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Elizabeth, so he had decided to forget about waiting for daylight and find her as soon as possible. After calling both her room and Buffy’s, he set out to search for her. Giles’s place was his first stop, figuring she might have returned to report to Alexis about her patrol. Sure enough, she was there, but what he hadn’t been prepared for was seeing Angel with her.
When he had first arrived at the house, Liz had been sitting at the computer, with Angel standing behind her. He was about to knock on the door when she saw Angel’s hands close around her neck. Fear had leapt up into his throat, afraid he was hurting her, until he realized he was only giving her a massage, which she was apparently enjoying quite a bit. His heart then sank as his worst fear came true: he was too late, Angel had already charmed her away from him.
Lucky turned to leave and nearly ran into someone. “Buffy!” he exclaimed, startled by her sudden
appearance.
“Hey, Lucky, you leaving?” she asked, climbing the rest of the steps to the front door.
He was about to say yes when an idea hit him. The great thing about jealousy was that it went both ways.
“Actually, I just got here.” He smiled and joined her at the door. “I thought Elizabeth might have stopped by after her patrol.”
“Sounds like a possibility,” Buffy said, opening the door. She had a habit of letting herself into Giles’s living quarters without knocking, something that irritated him to no end. Lucky followed her inside, his eyes immediately moving over to Liz and Angel, who were still huddled together at the computer, his hand resting lightly on her shoulder. They both turned at the sound of the door.
“Angel!” Buffy gasped, surprised to see him there, even more surprised to see him so chummy with Liz.
“Buffy,” he sighed, stepping back.
Liz looked at Lucky, a mixed range of emotions surging through her. Her first response to seeing
him there was happiness and excitement, but then she started to wonder why he was with Buffy.
Had they come over there together? Was there something going on that she didn’t know about?
“Hi, Lucky,” she said, her voice not coming out nearly as strong as she had intended.
He smiled slightly, shifting his gaze from to Angel, then back to her. “Hi Elizabeth.”
Alexis leaned close to Jax and smiled. “You could cut the sexual tension in here with a knife.”
Willow jumped up and hurried over to Buffy. “Hey, we think we found another one of Spike’s vamps,” she said excitedly, trying to lighten the mood a little. She had seen the way they were all glaring at each other and knew they were all jumping to the wrong conclusions.
“Is it another brainless bimbo?” Buffy snorted, following her to the computer, casting a brief glance up at Angel as she passed him.
“No, it’s a guy, but we’re not sure if he’s a vamp or it he’s just helping Spike” She pointed over Liz’s head at the screen. “There, that’s him.”
Buffy leaned in and squinted at the fuzzy image. “No, he’s a vamp. I saw him the other day, trying to bite Nikolas.”
“What?!” Alexis shouted, whipping around to look at them. “You’re kidding right?”
She shook her head, turning to frown at her. “No, he was definitely going to bite him. What’s the big deal?”
Lucky had stepped up next to her to see what they were talking about and groaned as he recognized Stefan. “Nikolas is his son. And you all thought it was sick for Carly to bite me!”
~*~
Xander stepped out of his room and looked up and down the hallway suspiciously. He was in his room flipping through a magazine when heard a loud crashing sound outside. He immediately jumped to his feet and rushed to the door.
“Who go there?” he grunted, squinting into the dark hall.
“What the!?” a startled voice cried out, nearly jumping into Xander’s arms.
“Cordelia?” Xander shrieked as his eyes adjusted. “What are you doing out here skulking around in the dark?”
“Get off of me,” she groaned, pushing herself away from her ex-boyfriend. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m hungry, so I’m going downstairs for some food.”
Xander watched her turn in a huff and walk down the stairs.
“Do you think we can?” he mused, following after her quickly.
“It’s the least they can do for us. After all, we are saving their dinky little town,” Cordelia noted, completely serious.
“Correction, Buffy and Liz are saving the town, we are doing our best impersonation of townies that live above a diner, don’t have jobs and are essentially useless to the cause.”
“Negative much Xander? You’ve got to lighten up . . .” Cordelia grinned as she flicked the light on in the kitchen and began to riffle through the refrigerator.
“Whoa, wait, have we suddenly stepped into an alternate universe, since when am I the uptight one?” Xander asked, scratching his head as he thought.
“Oh, pickles!” Cordelia announced with excitement.
“Really? Sweet or dill?”
“Dill.”
“Perfect,” Xander grinned, reaching out to take the jar from her.
“Xander my love, is that you I hear?” a voice from inside the dining room called out.
Xander and Cordelia both straightened up, instantly recognizing the voice.
“It couldn’t be,” Xander whispered, his body completely still. “The door was locked.”
“I’m afraid it is,” Cordelia said with a laugh as she peered through the window out into the dining room. “I thought you broke up with her.”
“I did I mean, we weren’t really going out. It was just the prom and all . . . but you know ex-man hating vengeance demons, they don’t take rejection very well,” he smirked.
Cordelia laughed again before taking Xander’s arm and pulling him to the door. “Come on.”
“What are you doing?”
“Do you want to be finally rid of Anya?”
“Yes, but I don’t want to see her now,” he whined.
“Trust me, I’ve got a plan,” she said with a wink.
“Oh yes, now I feel better, you have a plan,” he deadpanned as she drug him out into the dining area.
“Anya,” Xander called out flatly as he spotted her near the door.
“There you are my hunk of man loving,” Anya squealed, rushing up to him and placing a kiss on his lips.
“Hunk of man loving? Are you sure you’ve got the right Xander?” Cordelia teased.
“Cordelia, what are you doing here?” Anya snipped.
“I’m here because I want to be here. The question should be, why are you here?”
“Because Xander left Sunnydale and I don’t know why.”
Xander pulled away from her, his mouth hanging open in shock. “I left you a letter, a very long letter. Didn’t that explain it?”
“You’re so cryptic when you write, I had no idea what you meant,” Anya sighed, sitting down at the counter.
“I said it wasn’t working with us, that I was moving to the East Coast to be with my friends, I said we were over. What don’t you understand?”
“Calm down honey, I know moving can be stressful. After all, when I was a demon I did a lot of moving around, it gets easier with time,” Anya explained.
“A letter Xander, really,” Cordelia whispered. “Well, at least she didn’t catch you kissing Willow and then become impaled by a metal stake.”
Xander laughed nervously. “Thanks Cordy, you’re really helping.”
Outside Kelly’s Carly strolled along. Her boredom getting the better with her when she got into a fight with Stefan for no good reason and proceeded to storm out of Wyndemere. Spike was too busy researching the Gem of Power to notice that she had left.
Somehow she made her way back to Kelly’s, in hopes of finding Jason there. Though, it being fairly late in the night, his being there wasn’t even plausible.
She stopped when she noticed people inside of the diner, hoping maybe she could feed she peered inside, surprised by who she saw.
“Lorraine!” she exclaimed happily. Her old, devious friend from nursing school, she’d make the perfect vampire.
Carly ripped open the door and flew into the diner, rushing up to her old friend.
“We should really tell Ms. Spencer about that lock, doesn’t seem to work,” Xander groaned.
“Lorraine, why didn’t you tell me you were back in Port Charles!”
Anya spun around, coming face to face with Carly. “Hi Carly, long time no see.”
“Lorraine?” Xander and Cordelia repeated, looking at each other questioningly.
“Can we go outside and talk . . .now?” Carly asked in a demanding tone. Spike would be so pleased when he saw she found someone to sire, this would certainly get her on his good side.
Anya took a step back as she looked at Carly. “I don’t think so Carly, you’ve changed.”
“How so?” Carly asked innocently.
“Well for one, you’re now a vampire. I’m sorry, but I have a feeling you want to bite me. I’d rather stay in here with my boyfriend, thank you,” Anya announced, getting Xander to once again groan.
“Time out, two questions,” Cordelia perked up. “One, how the hell did you know she’s a vampire? Two, how does she know you and why did she call you Lorraine?”
“Uh, that would be three questions Cordy,” Xander corrected, receiving an elbow in the side from Cordelia for his statement. “Ouch!”
“I’ve been around a long time Cordelia, I can tell when I’m confronted with a demon.”
“Really?” Carly mused, quite impressed. “I never knew that about you.”
“There was a lot about me that you didn’t know Carly.”
“Please explain how you know her, now.” Xander ordered as he pulled himself up on an empty stool.
“Ok, this was when I was still a demon. I came to Port Charles to wreak some havoc and met Carly here. For being a mere mortal she really had a knack for wrecking men’s lives, I was impressed. I helped her with a few things dealing with her pregnancy and ruining the lives of some men. But then I left and ended up in Sunnydale where I met my darling Xander . . .” she finished with a sigh.
Cordelia rolled her eyes and quickly tapped an annoyed Xander on the arm. “First of all, vampire get the hell out of here before I . . .” she paused, looking around for something wooden . . . “I’ll break one of these chair legs and make you dust.”
Carly stepped back at Cordelia’s threat. “Listen blondie, I’m friends with the slayer, I even did a little slaying of my own at one time, don’t think I can’t take some rookie like you.”
“Damn slayers, I’ll have their necks,” Carly grumbled as she fled the diner.
“Good work Cordy, though you do remember we weren’t very good at that slaying thing,” Xander chuckled, impressed by her firmness with Carly.
“And you, can’t you get the message?” Cordelia announced, confronting Anya. “He doesn’t want you anymore, it’s over, he’s moved on.”
“Really, with who?” she asked doubtfully.
Without missing a beat, Cordelia said, “Me, we’ve gotten back together. This trip to Port Charles has restoked our fires. Now scram man-hating demon, Xander and I would like some privacy.”
“Is this true Xander?”
Xander only nodded his head, a bit thrown by Cordelia’s declaration. He looked over at her and briefly smiled, part of him remembering why they were together in the first place. It wasn’t all lust, there was a connection between them, they did have fun together. Sometimes he’d wonder how he messed it up in the first place.
“Well, I don’t have to be told twice,” Anya noted. She turned to leave but stopped when she got to the door. “You’re just lucky I’m no longer a demon or I’d make your life a living hell.”
The duo watched her leave, laughing when she was finally gone. “Well, that was some performance, I guess you are destined to be an actress,” Xander noted with a smile.
“Who said I was acting?” she threw out, a seductive smile on her face. “Come on, let’s go get something to eat.”
Xander lingered in the dining room for a moment, walking to the doors to lock them. He was now officially confused, life in Port Charles was beginning to have its perks.
~*~
A Few Days Later
Lying on his back with a history book laying on open on his chest, Lucky enjoyed a peaceful late Saturday afternoon nap. He probably would have slept long into the evening if someone didn’t start knocking on his door.
“Oz, man, get that,” Lucky muttered, not wanting to open his eyes. After a few moments he realized Oz was gone, so he pulled himself up and stumbled to the door.
He rubbed his eyes trying to shake the sleepy feeling that was still pulsating through his body. He couldn’t figure out why he was tired. He hadn’t been out in days, he had been avoiding everyone since the night in the park with Elizabeth. That must have been it, his conflict over the kiss and his emotions for Liz were wearing him out.
Instead of dwelling on his present romantic problems Lucky gingerly opened the door and greeted the human alarm clock with a raspy, “Yeah?”
“Out partying Lucky?” Buffy asked with a laugh. “I’d ask if you were a vampire, but your window’s wide open and you don’t really look like a big pile of dust.”
“Hey Buffy,” he said, a smile spreading across his face. The image of Angel’s hands on Liz, and the two of them making him feel like the odd man out the night in the park sprinted across his mind. “Why don’t you come in?”
“Don’t you want to know why I’m here?” she wondered aloud as he held the door open for her. She was shocked by Lucky’s sudden attentiveness toward her. Since the moment she met him all his attention and energy had been directed at Liz. But something was definitely up now. When they first started patrolling together, all Liz could do was talk about Lucky. But lately she had been quiet and distant, and whenever Buffy would bring up Lucky, Liz would instantly tense up.
“Does it have to do with vampires?”
“No,” she shook her head. She pushed a few books aside and sat down on Oz’s bed as Lucky sat down on his own.
“Werewolves?”
“Nope.”
“Some other sort of demon?”
“Very cold,” she chuckled.
“I have no idea then. What can I do for you Buffy?” he asked, his lips curled into a tiny smile.
“Would you like to go to dinner at the dining hall with me?” she asked him. He looked at her oddly, as if somehow he was transported into another realm of being. Poor guy, she thought, he had had that same perplexed look on his face since she arrived.
“What about your little entourage, don’t they usually do that with you?” he inquired with a pleased grin.
“Oz and Willow went out, on a date, or something. Xander and Cordelia have temporarily disappeared . . .”
“Disappeared? That’s not good, aren’t you worried?” Lucky said, a bit panicked.
“Oh, no, nothing like that . . . Xander is on an exploratory mission to see what it’s like running a first class blues club . . .those were his exact words.”
Lucky shook his head and sighed. “So he’s hanging out with my dad?” Lucky could tell right away that Xander was the kind of guy who’d get along well with Luke, both were slightly twisted and not afraid to have fun.
“Yeah . . .and then Cordelia is hanging out with Emily and your brother, who should really be more careful, we don’t need another episode happening with his father,” she advised.
“He hasn’t been on the best of terms with Count Vlad anyway, I wouldn’t worry.” Lucky paused and looked at Buffy, wondering if she had seen Liz at all today. “What about Elizabeth? You can eat dinner with her, right?”
“She’s been kind of distant lately,” Buffy muttered, knowing instinctively that it had something to do with Lucky. She also knew her hanging out with Lucky was also bound to cause some friction with her and her slaying partner. “I think she was meeting with Alexis today about one thing or another.”
“Oh, I see, I get it now,” Lucky rose to his feet and walked across the room to where she was sitting on Oz’s bed.
“You see what?” she asked flirtatiously. Buffy knew she shouldn’t, she knew Lucky was in love with Liz. But she couldn’t help it. Lucky was cute and fun and sweet, and flirtatious himself. It was only natural.
“I’m your last resort, everyone else is busy, so you’ve come to me. What about your brooding ex-boyfriend, why don’t you ask him out to dinner?” Lucky whispered, sitting down by her out stretched legs.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Buffy sighed, resting her head against the wall. “Maybe because it’s still fairly bright out and I’d be taking a pile of ash to dinner, or because he doesn’t eat, or . . .because I want to eat with you, you jerk,” she joked.
“When you put it so sweetly, how could I refuse . . .” Lucky leaned closer, looking her dead in the eye. “Are you ready to go?”
“If you are?” she whispered, feeling his breath on her.
Lucky nodded his head and licked his lips. He lost all control over his actions the minute he heard the knocking on the door.
“I’ve been ready the second I saw you . . .standing at my door,” Lucky grinned. He brushed away the hair from her face, his eyes studying her lips intently.
“We should get moving, if we don’t want to stand in line.”
“That’d be wise,” a voice said from the doorway.
Lucky shot up, a guilty and pleased look on his face. “Elizabeth, what are you doing here?”
“Hi, Buffy,” she said coldly.
“Hey Liz, we were just talking about going to dinner. Want to join us?” Buffy asked, feeling terrible about what almost happened with Lucky.
“Yeah, sure, but I need to speak with Lucky alone . . .just for a little bit,” she said calmly, glaring at Lucky the entire time.
“I’ll wait for you two down in the lobby,” Buffy said quickly before running out of the room.
“You didn’t answer my question, what are you doing here?” Lucky asked nervously.
“I came to talk to you about what happened in the park the other night. I guess I have my answer,” she hissed, turning to leave.
Lucky jumped to his feet and grabbed her arm, stopping her from leaving. She turned around, an amused look on her face.
“Do you really think you can stop me from leaving?”
“Well, probably not, but . . . please don’t,” he asked sincerely.
“Listen Lucky, I don’t care. So you kissed me, so what. It was just a kiss, it obviously didn’t mean anything to you. I get it.”
“Wh--. Why would you say that?”
Liz laughed, turning to face him completely. She motioned over to Oz’s bed, “Was there a reason you two were sitting together so closely, seconds away from kissing?”
“What? You’re making assumptions Elizabeth, nothing happened,” he paused, getting angry. “And so what if it did? The kiss seems to have meant less to you than it did to me. Or else you wouldn’t have pushed me away the second Angel arrived.”
“What, now who’s making assumptions?” she fought back, glaring up into the eyes she loved so dearly.
“Or what about him putting his filthy undead hands all over you? Gosh Elizabeth, I thought you had better taste than that,” he muttered bitterly.
“You think something is going on between me and Angel?”
Lucky shook his head, wishing this fight wasn’t going on. He didn’t really feel for Buffy, at least not how he felt for Liz. Part of the reason he almost kissed her, he surmised, was in hopes that Liz would see it and become insanely jealous.
So it wasn’t the best plan he ever had, but this was all new to him. All of it.
“You’re the one who thinks I was about to kiss Buffy.”
“Well?” she asked, her hands on her hips, waiting for him to answer.
“Well what?” he spat.
“Would you have kissed her if I didn’t show up?” Liz asked, her voice devoid of emotion, which was unnerving Lucky.
“I don’t . . .maybe, maybe not. I know one thing, if I didn’t think you had a thing going on with Angel I would never even think about it,” he explained. Lucky ran a nervous hand through his hair, wishing this could all be over.
“I am not with Angel, Lucky, that’s ridiculous!”
“Not from my vantage point. It seems that all these new people from Sunnydale have become a huge part of your life. You have more in common with all of them now, not to mention you and Angel have some weird vibe going on.”
“Lucky, it’s not like you think. I’m a slayer,” she whispered. “My life has changed, things are very different now.”
“Yeah, I get it Elizabeth, I do. I wanted to take our friendship to the next level, and you don’t want to. I want to at least help you out when you go patrolling, and you turn me away in favor of Angel. I really do get it Elizabeth. There is no more room in your life for me anymore, I get the message loud and clear.” He grabbed his jacket, turned to look at her one last time. “Later!”
Before she could stop him Lucky ran out of his room and disappeared in the mass of bodies in the hallway. “Damnit!” she yelled, slamming his door shut. “What just happened here?”
Liz made her way down the stairs and to the lobby where a stunned Buffy sat waiting. “Did you see Lucky?”
“Yeah, he just ran out here, he looked really upset,” Buffy noted.
“What is happening,” Liz groaned, sitting down on the bench next to Buffy.
“Listen Liz, whatever you saw up there . . .it was nothing. We were just flirting, just goofing around. I’m not over Angel, I don’t think I’ll ever be. But more importantly, I’d never do that to you. I have no idea what came over us . . and I don’t even think we would have kissed me . . .”
“Buffy, shut up,” Liz said sharply. “Don’t worry about it. I know why he was doing it.”
“Why?”
“Because he loves me,” she whispered sadly.
~*~
Buffy turned onto the docks, mindlessly twirling a stake between her fingers, the click of her shoes on the
hard wood the only sound in her ears. She and Liz had gone to dinner together and talked about school, slaying and pretty much anything else they could think of to avoid talking any more about Lucky. She could tell Liz hadn’t wanted to discuss it any further, and she herself was still a bit uncomfortable after what had happened, so neither of them had broached the subject again.
After dinner, they had split up to start patrolling. Liz was taking the park that night, Buffy the docks. They had decided that since Stefan was obviously one of Spike’s new army, it would be better for the more experienced slayer to patrol near Wyndemere. So far, the place was dead...no pun intended.
An amused voice cut into her thoughts, immediately putting her on the defensive. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were stalking me.”
Buffy whirled around, stake raised, but quickly hid it behind her back when she recognized to source of the comment. “Jason!”
“Buffy, right?” he asked, standing up from his seat on a nearby bench. “What was that in your hand?”
She held out the stake again and looked at it like she had never seen it before. “This? Um, it’s. . . a stick, I guess. I found it back there, picked it up...don’t know why.” She looked up at him, hoping he bought her lame excuse.
“Okay... you know, you should be careful, it looks kind of sharp. You could hurt someone.”
She suppressed a smile and twirled it around again. “Well, you know what they say. Speak softly and carry a pointy stick.”
Jason laughed and shook his head. “I think the quote was ‘carry a big stick,’ not pointy.”
Buffy smiled and tucked the stake into her back pocket “You ask me, a sharp one’s more effective. It can do more damage, and it’s much more portable.”
“You’ve got a point. So, what are you doing out here by yourself? You seemed kind of jumpy before.”
“Just taking a walk. How about you? Do you always hang out here?” She walked closer to him and crossed her arms.
“Actually, I’m waiting for a friend.”
“Oh,” she muttered, disappointed for some reason.
Jason looked down at his watch and sighed. “He’s late, though.”
He? Buffy smiled again, her spirits instantly raised. “Want some company? After all, it’s not safe to be out here alone at night.”
“So you’re offering to protect me?” he asked, his eyes dancing with amusement as he looked her over. She
grinned and patted her back pocket.
“Remember, I’ve got the pointy stick. How about you?”
Jason chuckled and shook his head. “You got me there, I don’t have any sticks.” Instead, he had a gun under his jacket and a bodyguard hiding around the corner, but why frighten her with that bit of information? She was obviously flirting with him, and surprisingly, he kind of liked it.
“See? You need me here.”
“I suppose I do,” he replied, smiling down at her. Their playful banter was cut off by the sound of approaching footsteps. Buffy tensed up, but forced herself to wait until she actually saw the newcomer this time before going for her stake. Jason was probably already suspicious enough.
“Sorry I’m late, Jason,” the man called out, quickly descending the steps. He had short black hair and a dark complexion, with smoldering brown eyes that were almost black. His hands were buried in the pockets of his black trenchcoat, and there was an equally attractive man in a designer suit following a few feet behind him. Come to think of it, she had yet to see an ugly person in this town.
Jason turned around and nodded. “It’s all right, Sonny.” He turned back to Buffy. “Buffy, this is
my partner, Sonny Corinthos. Sonny, this is Buffy....”
“Summers,” she finished, realizing that she had never told him her last name before.
Sonny chuckled slightly and reached out for her hand, kissing the back of it in his usual style. She
blushed at the gesture and giggled nervously as he looked into her eyes. “Buffy Summers? Is that
really your name?”
She nodded slowly. “Uh-huh.”
“She’s from California,” Jason added, as though that explained everything. He then looked back at
Buffy, who was still recovering from Sonny’s intense gaze. “We have to go. It was nice seeing you again, Buffy. Be careful out here.”
She met his blue eyes again and smiled. “I will. Bye.”
“Bye.” He turned back to Sonny and nodded, then they both made their way up the steps, on their way to the coffee warehouse. Buffy watched them go and let out a small sigh. A moment later, she heard footsteps again and whipped around, her hand going for the stake.
“Calm down, it’s just me,” Lucky called out, holding up his hands. She relaxed and let her hand fall to her side again.
“Hey, Lucky. Where did you fly off to before? We were worried about you.”
“We?”
“Um, yeah. Liz came down right after you left, looking for you. Are you okay?” She looked at him with concern, wondering what exactly had happened between the two of them after she left his room.
Lucky shrugged, looking off in the distance. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just needed some air, some time to think , that’s all.”
“Oh. Well, I was just leaving, anyway.”
“Patrolling?” he asked, his thoughts immediately turning to Elizabeth. If Buffy was patrolling alone, then that meant she was too, which made him nervous.
Buffy nodded, smiling slightly. “Yeah, a slayer’s work is never done. I’ll see you around.” She sighed and started to walk away.
“Buffy?” Lucky asked, stopping her before she could get too far. She turned around and cocked her head to the side, waiting to see what he had to say. He smiled sadly. “I’m sorry about...before...I shouldn’t have...”
She shook her head, cutting him off. “Forget about it, it’s okay. We were caught up in the moment, but it won’t happen again, I know. I’m pretty sure Liz knows that, too.”
“Hey, Slayer!” an angry voice shot out, causing them both to spin around in surprise. Carly stepped out of the shadows in full-vampire form, her hands planted on her hips, doing her best to look menacing. Hannah was right behind her, practically mimicking her stance.
“Yes?” Buffy asked with a sigh, not in the mood to deal with the newbies.
“Stay away from Sonny!” Hannah shouted, drawing an annoyed glare from Carly, and a confused one from Buffy. Lucky stepped back, realizing this had nothing to do with him. He had learned first-hand what Carly was capable of, and wasn’t in the mood to go through it again.
“Why were you talking to Jason?” Carly challenged, stepping closer. Buffy closed her fingers around her stake and pulled it out of her pocket, just in case one of them decided to try something crazy.
“Just talking. Last time I checked it wasn’t against the law.”
“Well, don’t let it happen again. Jason is mine, he has no use for you, little girl.”
Buffy let out a short laugh and shook her head. “Funny, your name never came up. Does he even know that you’re one of the Fang Gang now?”
“Jason loves me, no matter what and nothing you do is going to change that, so why don’t you just
go find Angel and get vertical?”
“Yeah,” Hannah chimed in, stepping up next to Carly. “We could use someone else on our side, anyway. Maybe he can help us find the Gem of Power, and then....”
Carly’s hand shot out, connecting solidly with her chin, sending her flying against one of the posts. Hannah jumped to her feet and growled. “What was that for?”
“You idiot!” she snarled, stalking towards her. “Don’t you ever listen when Spike tells you something? God, you must have been the worst Fed in history, if you can’t even keep one stupid little secret!”
“Sorry, it slipped out!” she shouted, backing away from the angry woman. “It’s not the end of the world.”
“It will be for you when Spike finds out, Banana.”
Hannah frowned, her anger renewed. “I swear, if you call me that one more time, I’ll rip your
throat out!”
“I’d like to see you try missy!” she laughed before lunging for her. Hannah turned and ran off,
with Carly hot on her tail.
“I have to go!” Buffy gasped once they were gone, turning in the opposite direction. “I need to tell Giles about this.”
“Um, okay,” Lucky mumbled, shaking his head. He had no idea what had just happened. Buffy rushed off without another word, leaving him alone. He sighed and sat heavily on one of the benches, rubbing his face, unaware that he wasn’t as alone as he thought.
“Looks like this is my Lucky night,” Stefan murmured softly to himself as he stepped soundlessly into the glow of one of the streetlamps. He grinned at the sight before him, then took another step forward.
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